Reviews, Trolls, and Calls
by Lucky Kutsick
Summary: Tim is reading through reviews for his newest story when he finds something upsetting. Written as a present for my friend Mike. Fail title is Fail


_Sorry guys, no witty banter from Mike. One: because my roommate graciously typed for me. Two: because I wrote this for Mike as a thank you/birthday present. _

_And I know, I know. "Bad Lehcar for posting this when you need to be updating Escort". But like I said, this was a gift._

_It's based on something that really happened between me and Mike after reading reviews for __Escort__. _

_This is dedicated to Mike, who I both love and hate (depending on the moment)._

_Disclaimer: I own no part of NCIS.  
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x.x.x.x.x

"_Devil's Seam_ is an exciting read that will keep you on the edge of your seat…"

"…Gemcity has done it again…"

"The characters really come alive… you'll fall in love with them all."

Tim smiled happily at the computer screen. Recently, he had found a website that could locate any and all reviews for any book you searched. Having already seen almost all the reviews for his novels, Deep Six and Rock Hollow, he was browsing through the reviews for his newest work, a novella titled Devil's Seam. Since it wasn't a part of the Deep Six series (so the team had no right to complain) and wasn't as widely publicized the reviews were from smaller websites, journals, and papers: but this website found them all.

Suddenly the smile on his lips froze, and then slowly slid away all together. The reason was the next review. Well, he hated to even call it a review. Hate-mail, was more like it. The words were biting and cruel, and bashed his work. That, however, wasn't what bothered him. No, he could deal with the hateful reviews: it was all part of being a writer. No, what bothered him was who the review was from.

Mrs. Graceian: Tim's very own perennial troll. He had never met the woman in his life, and frankly never planned to, but somehow he had managed to get on her bad side. No matter what he published, no matter how well he had done, Graceian had only words of spite to say.

Early on, when Tim had first read Graceian's reviews, he had tried to confront her. He sent a polite email that addressed some of her criticisms, and he tried to gently point out the flaws in her logic. However, this did nothing more than inflame Graceian's ire. She responded back with hate and venom, denying his explanation and continuing to post and publish harassing reviews.

Tim once again tried to appeal to her. He said while he respected the fact that not everyone would be pleased with his writings, he would appreciate if Graceian would stop attacking him for the same reasons over and over, and if she would kindly stop harassing the reviews who enjoyed his works. Needless to say, she ignored him.

Now, as Tim stared at the newest hateful message, he felt a seed of depression sow itself in his chest. What, he wondered, had he done to deserve this? To have someone despise him so much that they had to harass him at every opportunity? What had he done to have someone who seem to *enjoy* making him feel bad?

With a heavy sigh, Tim realized he no longer wished to read any more. Without looking at the review, he quickly shut down his browser and then his computer. Perhaps he would just make himself a cup of tea before going to bed. He changed his mind halfway to the kitchen. No, the extra caffeine would just keep him up, and he really didn't want to be awake feeling depressed. So he resigned himself to heading to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

Half an hour later he slipped into his bed. He glanced at the clock with a groan. Only 9 o'clock, and on a Saturday night, no less. The knot of depression in his chest grew slightly larger as he contemplated the fact that there he was, only in his thirties, and was going to bed early like an old man. With a last sigh of sadness, he tugged the covers up over himself and shut off the light.

When his phone went off, Tim reluctantly pried one eye open. He glanced confusedly at the clock and, seeing it read 1:30 am, realized he had been asleep for several hours. He moaned as he fumbled around for his phone. "Please," he mumbled into his pillow, "let it be anybody but Gibbs." Without even looking at the caller ID he pressed the speaker to his ear. " 'lo?"

"MCGEE!" Tim hastily jerked the phone from his ear, regretting not checking the ID beforehand. Gently, he eased the phone back to his cheek.

"Hey Abby," he said sleepily. "Did you have any other reason for calling outside of screaming in my ear?"

"Oh, sorry. Were you asleep?" she said hurriedly, but continued before he could even continue. "My bad. But, you know, I just finished reading your new story, and I LOVED it! It was really, really good! And it's probably a good thing you stopped using the team as your characters. I mean, I know you'll forever claim you didn't, but seriously, Timmy, they were soooo us. But this new one is so totally original, I love it!"

Tim rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Thanks, Abs. I'm glad you like it… but don't you think you could have waited till tomorrow to tell me that?"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry, but I just finished reading it tonight, because I couldn't sleep. Then when I was done, I wanted to see what other people thought about it, so I went online and started snooping around, and stalked your account, saw you had just added some favorite comments, and I *knew* you had been looking at reviews. You know, that's kinda a vain thing to do, but I guess all writers do that. You guys probably get that fuzzy satisfaction feeling when you read stuff like that and-"

"Abby!" Tim cut in.

"Right," she said. "Sorry. Anyways, I was looking through the same reviews you had when I came across our Little Miss Troller."

Tim hung his head. Was he ever going to get away from Gracian? "I know Abs. It's not a big deal. But what does her review have anything to do with you calling me?"

"Well," Abby said softly, "I know you usually get a bit upset by her comments, and this one was extra harsh. But, since I knew you had been looking at reviews tonight, and had probably seen that meanie's review and I just… you know… wanted to… make sure you were… you know… okay."

Tim blinked. Then he did it again. "What?"

Abby gave a little cough. "You know… You're my friend, and I know I get upset when anyone questions my forensics, so I wondered if you felt the same way when someone trashed your piece. But, I just had to make sure you didn't feel that way because she is totally wrong! Your writing is awesome, and just because one sadistic psycho that doesn't have a life has to dump on your book doesn't mean you should disregard what I and most other people think."

After a second, Tim realized he was smiling. "Thanks, Abby."

He could practically *hear* Abby beaming across the phone. "You're welcome Tim. You're my friend. Just remember, no matter how many Graceian's are in your life, I'll always be there for you."

Tim grinned happily as he closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillows. Again, the only thing he could think to say, even if it had so many emotions behind it, was a simple, "Thank you."

x.x.x.x.x

_Yes, he actually did do that for me. I got trolled, got depressed, and at 1 in the morning he woke me to tell me he was my friend. _

_Anyways, happy Birthday Mike! I hope you liked your present. Now you have your very own story about you!_

_Now, I'll get back to work on __Escort__. Bye for now!_


End file.
